Bumpers Two Year Survey Results
Here are some selected survey results from the recent two-year surveys! Thanks to those who participated – it’s so fun to see how our now-toddlers are progressing (doesn’t it feel like we were flooded with birth announcements not so long ago?)
Note: NA answers are removed from totals. These answers are not de-duplicated, so multiple parents might have answered for the same child (and in some cases a parent answered once for multiple Marchling twins).
Who took the survey?
There were 148 responses, 140 of whom answered the first question. This compares to 166 responses to the 18-month survey.
Gender identity:
98 percent of survey-takers identify as women, and 1 percent identify as men, while 1 percent identify as non-binary or another gender.
Age: The maximum age of survey-takers is 43 and the minimum age is 25.
Number of kids:
69 percent of survey-takers have just one kid! This compares to 77 percent with one child in the 18-month survey.
All about the Marchlings
The toddlers in the group have a ton of personality, and we see them shine in all different ways!
Our favorite Marchling traits
Our Marchlings’ favorite activities
Playtime takes on a variety of modes, including a lot of playing with siblings.
| activity | N | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor play | 98 | 70% |
| Reading | 69 | 49% |
| Playing on the playground | 57 | 41% |
| Playing with toys | 49 | 35% |
| TV | 32 | 23% |
| Singing | 29 | 21% |
| Blocks | 22 | 16% |
| Puzzle games | 17 | 12% |
| Another activity | 14 | 10% |
| iPad | 7 | 5% |
| Dancing | 2 | 1% |
| Drawing | 2 | 1% |
Favorite toys
Children have been playing with dolls and toy cars for centuries, and our Marchlings are fond of the classics. Duplo blocks, however, are coming in hot as a newer classic.
Milestones
About two-thirds of Marchlings are able to walk backwards! It’s good to remember that “March Bumpers” includes a wide range of ages & milestone achievements come in so many forms – some toddlers are more talkative while others are more physical, and some get really good at one or two things before mastering other skills!
| milestone | N | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Running | 133 | 90% |
| Using a spoon/fork | 132 | 89% |
| Walking upstairs | 129 | 87% |
| Kicking a ball | 116 | 78% |
| Hiding | 114 | 77% |
| Rolling a ball | 112 | 76% |
| Using an open cup | 106 | 72% |
| Singing songs | 101 | 68% |
| Walking backward | 101 | 68% |
| Taking clothes off | 100 | 68% |
| Counting | 99 | 67% |
| Jumping | 97 | 66% |
| Saying ABCs | 64 | 43% |
| Putting clothes on | 60 | 41% |
Every toddler is hitting at least two of the listed (of those for whom the question was answered.)
Potty Training
Over ten percent of Marchlings have already potty trained! It’s hard to know when to potty train – but many plan to do so before 2.5 years old.
Favorite Books
These little ones love their books – over 100 distinct books were mentioned! Here are those that got more than one favorite (and some kids just like ’em all!)
| Favorite book | N |
|---|---|
| Little Blue Truck | 4 |
| Goodnight Moon | 4 |
| Chicka Chicka Boom Boom | 3 |
| All Of Them | 2 |
| Brown Bear, Brown Bear | 2 |
Food, food, food
A little under twenty percent of Marchlings in the survey still nurse sometimes, in varying amounts! This compares to about twenty-five percent in the 18 month survey who still nursed.
Favorite Foods
Whether nursing or not, mealtimes play a big role in all of our lives. Below are Marchlings’ favorite foods that had more than one vote – yes, many of our kids like berries.
| Favorite food | N |
|---|---|
| Cheese | 22 |
| Fruit | 13 |
| Yogurt/vegan yogurt | 7 |
| Pasta | 6 |
| Blueberries | 6 |
| Pasta/noodles | 5 |
| Pizza | 5 |
| Bananas | 3 |
| Oatmeal | 3 |
| Apples | 3 |
| Berries | 3 |
| Beans/legumes | 3 |
| Chicken nuggets | 3 |
| Meatballs | 2 |
| Cookies | 2 |
| Strawberries | 2 |
| Avocado | 2 |
| Curry | 2 |
| Toast | 2 |
Mealtimes
Most of our toddlers eat 4-6 times per day.
About 20% of survey takers reported that mealtimes were “somewhat” to “very” stressful, up from 14% in the 18-month survey. Increasing pickiness as our kids have more opinions might be a factor here – for those on this end of the spectrum, you are not alone.
How we’re feeling as parents
It’s true that parenting any toddler is both exhausting and rewarding. And, repeating it doesn’t make it any less true – parenting a toddler born at the beginning of a global pandemic brings a truly unique set of anxieties as well as sources of joy as we figure out how to introduce our kids to the world.
The majority of parents who took the survey enjoy parenting quite a lot, while some might be struggling right now and looking forward to future parenting horizons. Since the 18-month survey, the average score on this question increased slightly (about a tenth of a percent), and the minimum score increased from a 2 to a 3 (on a scale of 0 to 5).
Even if we enjoy parenting, it doesn’t mean we’re not overwhelmed and anxious – parenting in the 2020s is not easy, nor has parenting ever been easy!
Whilw many parents fall in the middle range for feeling overwhelmed, quite a few are on the higher ends. The trends from 18 months to two years are similar - in fact, there’s no statistically significant difference between the responses from the two surveys.
As far as anxieties go, six months on, with Covid-19 still looming but perhaps warmer weather on the horizon for many of us – it looks like we’re a little more at peace, though there’s still plenty to keep us up at night. The average anxiety level was about 0.2 lower for the two year survey, but there’s not enough data to say if it’s truly different.
What is making us most anxious?
Covid-19: prevalent in our 18 month parenting anxieties and still a topmost concern today. What would you know – the “world” has also landed itself on our shoulders. We can’t carry it all – take a breath, take a break, but the fact that we care about everything happening around us says a lot about the kind of people and parents we are.
What overwhelms us the most?
Tantrums, which weren’t nearly as prevalent in the survey at 18 months, have exploded onto the scene (quite literally). Balancing work & parenting seems to be on a lot of peoples’ minds – it’s hard, but it’s not forever, for better or for worse.
And yet – there’s so much to look forward to…
What we’re looking forward to most
…and so much bringing us joy – especially watching our amazing kids learn new things.
What brings us the most joy
At the end of the day – our toddlers are growing, learning, and teaching us something new every day. None of us have it easy, but we’re here to help and support one another and share in the joys and struggles of toddler parenthood.
Bonus content
The rest of the charts, sans commentary (open ends not included to preserve privacy):
